Edinburgh Graduate Theatre Group
Antigone by Sophocles
The Group was founded in 1954 by some Edinburgh University graduates, who were former members of the University Dramatic Society. The connection with the University has been retained. We were the first group to perform at Adam House Theatre so it was fitting that we re-opened it for our golden jubilee production.
What is really worth dying for? A brother? A principle? A god? A nation?
Antigone wants to bury her brother. - Creon fears war if he allows it.
Owen McCafferty's powerful adaptation of Sophocles' classic questions whether there can really be a winner when two intractable wills collide.
Performances:
17th - 22nd August
Price:
£8.00 (£6.00) »
war leaves no winners
ANTIGONE
Was Creon the original Man Who Refused To Listen? Probably not. Let's just say he was a bit slow to take good advice when he was given it.
The scene is a battle-field. Eteocles and Polyneices - two brothers on opposing sides, have killed each other. Creon, the new king and their uncle, has ruled that Eteocles be buried with full honours while Polyneices' body must be left to be eaten by dogs - thereby condemning his soul to be left in Hades for all eternity.
Then in comes Antigone, the doomed daughter of a doomed family. She is determined to bury Polyneices - even if it brings about her own death.
And, of course, it does.
Was Antigone resolutely determined to die a martyr's death? Or was she simply a puppet, unable to escape the relentless power of Fate? You'll have to make up your own mind on that one. What's abundantly clear is that war leaves no winners - in the end all that is left is a pile of corpses, some still bleeding and some drained of blood.
The actor's drab costumes reflect the unremitting gloom of the message. But a crumb of comfort can be taken from the fact that some of the proceeds from the sale of the programmes will be donated to Amnesty International. Thank Goodness for that!
Vale Benson.